J.K. Rowling Wrote New Stories About McGonagall, Slughorn for eBook Trio Pottermore Presents

Does J.K. Rowling ever sleep? You can’t blame a girl for wondering if she’s developed a spell to avoid it, considering her output this year: she’ll make her screenwriting debut in November with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and somehow also found time to co-write the story for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which premiered in London earlier this summer. But wait, there’s more: she’s also got three eBooks coming out in September, which include at least a couple of new stories.

On Wednesday, Pottermore announced the debut of Pottermore Presents, a collection of three eBooks, which will blend together content Rowling already wrote for Pottermore with new stories not seen before on the site.

Potterheads can expect at least two new stories: one that gives us more information on Professor Slughorn, and another that reveals Professor McGonagall’s involvement in the Second Wizarding War.

From Pottermore:

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide dives into the nooks and crannies of the beloved wizarding school itself, unfurling
everything from details about the Hogwarts ghosts, to what happens
when the Sorting Hat can’t decide on a student’s house.

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Political and Pesky Poltergeists explores the darker roots of the wizarding world. You’ll
learn more about the troubles that faced the Ministry of Magic, the
horrors of Azkaban prison and enjoy an entirely new original piece of
writing by J.K. Rowling on Horace Slughorn.

Finally, in Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and
Dangerous Hobbies, Pottermore celebrates the colorful staff of
Hogwarts. There’s more to discover about Care of Magical Creatures
teacher Silvanus Kettleburn, as well as another new piece of writing
from J.K. Rowling on Minerva McGonagall, and her involvement in the
second wizarding war.

It’s hard to say from this just how much new information there will be for the diehard Potter fans—but for those who don’t normally keep up with every online dispatch, the eBooks could be a more finite, digestible source of information. And, let’s face it, if you’re the kind of person who reads every word on Pottermore, you’re probably also the kind of person who will drum up a few more dollars to read the new stories.

About a Book
Harry, his owl, Hedwig, and foppish professor Gilderoy Lockhart pay a visit to London's "wizarding" bookstore, Flourish and Blotts.

Photo: Photographed by Mark Seliger for the October 2002 issue.

Greenhouse Efx

Ron, Hermoine, and Harry take Herbology instruction from Professor Sprout, played by Miriam Margolyes. Ron is holding a just-picked Mandrake. Note earmuffs, which protect the students from its fatal cry.

Photo: Photographed by Mark Seliger for the October 2002 issue.

Stoned

Hermione Granger has been literally "Petrified." She is attended to by Madame Pomfrey (played by Gemma Jones), Harry, Ron, and Colin Creevey (played by Hugh Mitchell).

Photo: Photographed by Mark Seliger for the October 2002 issue.

The Boy Who Lived

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, in the spider-infested cupboard where he is forced to live. “I was totally scared out of my wits,” Radcliffe says of auditioning for the role.

Rupert Grint, who plays Harry Potter’s best friend, Ron Weasley, rides one of the live chess pieces that guard the hidden Sorcerer’s Stone at Hogwarts.

Photo: Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the October 2001 issue.

Photo: Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the October 2001 cover.

About a Book
Harry, his owl, Hedwig, and foppish professor Gilderoy Lockhart pay a visit to London's "wizarding" bookstore, Flourish and Blotts.

Photographed by Mark Seliger for the October 2002 issue.

Greenhouse Efx

Ron, Hermoine, and Harry take Herbology instruction from Professor Sprout, played by Miriam Margolyes. Ron is holding a just-picked Mandrake. Note earmuffs, which protect the students from its fatal cry.

Photographed by Mark Seliger for the October 2002 issue.

Stoned

Hermione Granger has been literally "Petrified." She is attended to by Madame Pomfrey (played by Gemma Jones), Harry, Ron, and Colin Creevey (played by Hugh Mitchell).

Photographed by Mark Seliger for the October 2002 issue.

The Boy Who Lived

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, in the spider-infested cupboard where he is forced to live. “I was totally scared out of my wits,” Radcliffe says of auditioning for the role.

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the October 2001 issue.

The Dursleys

Unaware that he is really a famous wizard, Harry lives as an unloved member of the Dursley family. Fiona Shaw, left, is Petunia Dursley, sister of Harry’s late mother; Richard Griffiths, center, has the role of Vernon Dursley; and Harry Melling, as their son Dudley, is the world’s most horrible child.

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the October 2001 issue.

At Hogwarts

From left to right: gathered on the set of the Hogwarts School’s Great Hall are Jamie Waylett as Crabbe, Tom Felton as Draco, Harry’s nemesis, and Joshua Herdman as Goyle, all of Slytherin House, and Emma Watson as Hermione, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, and Rupert Grint as Ron, all of Gryffindor House.

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the October 2001 issue.

The Half-Giant

Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, says he went to J. K. Rowling for guidance: “When I was trying to get a fix on Hagrid’s character, she said, ‘Well, think of him as one of those really big Hell’s Angels that gets off a motorbike and then starts talking about how his garden is coming.’”

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the October 2001 issue.

Flitwick, Quirrell, and Hooch

From left to right: Warwick Davis (as Professor Flitwick, a tiny wizard who teaches Charms), Ian Hart (as Professor Quirrell, who specializes in Defense Against the Dark Arts), and Zoë Wanamaker (as Madame Hooch, professor of Flying) with a dragon skeleton on the set of the Hogwarts library.